Components may be fabricated using a variety of techniques. One common technique is molding. Molding is a manufacturing process using malleable raw material. To mold a part, the raw material is introduced into a mold cavity. The raw material moves in the mold to contact the walls of the mold cavity, with the shape of the mold cavity corresponding to the shape for the molded component.
The mold cavity is created by a plurality of mold portions, such as upper and lower (or left and right) mold portions. To remove the molded component from the mold cavity, the mold portions are moved away from each other to open the mold. Mold inserts may be added in the mold cavity to form details in the part. Mold inserts are commonly used to form surface structures, channels, cavities, or other features. However, some features are difficult to form using mold inserts. For example, some cavities with complex contours may trap mold inserts due to the presence of negative draft angles on some surfaces. While some approaches to forming cavities with complex contours have been developed, there remains a need for alternative approaches. As such, it is desirable to have additional devices and methods that facilitate fabricating components that have a plurality of cavities extending through the component, advantageously including components where some or all of the cavities have at least one surface with a complex contour, as well as other possible issues.